iPhone 5 Tips and Tricks & Info.

This is a discussion on iPhone 5 Tips and Tricks & Info. within the iPhone forums, part of the iPod, iPhone, iPad Forum category; These Are The Complete Blueprints For The iPhone 5
The only people that really need to know all of the iPhone 5’s dimensions down to ...

iPhone 5 Tips and Tricks & Info.

These Are The Complete Blueprints For The iPhone 5

The only people that really need to know all of the iPhone 5’s dimensions down to the nearest hundredth of a millimeter are case manufacturers, and rabid fanboys that can’t devour enough Apple knowledge. Apple posted the blueprints for the iPhone 5 in the developer center, but for some reason they can be accessed by anyone even if you don’t have an account.

The full high-res blueprints show crazy small details, like the degree of the proximity cone for the camera, and the difference in thickness between the antenna band and the display screen. It’s everything you’d need to know to make your own iPhone 5 case. To access the entire high-res blueprint

Yes, You Can Cut Your Micro-SIM Down Into A Nano-SIM For Your iPhone 5

The nano-SIM isn’t just smaller than the micro-SIM — it’s also thinner.

If you’re expecting a new iPhone 5 on Friday, and you’re buying it unlocked directly from Apple, you’re going to need a nano-SIM to go with it. Obtaining one is easy if your carrier is one supporting the new device, because you can just call them up and request one. But what if you’re already stuck in a contract with a carrier that doesn’t provide nano-SIMs yet?

Fortunately for you, scissors, some sandpaper, and a pair of steady hands will allow you to cut down your existing SIM or micro-SIM into a nano-SIM.

The nano-SIM is around 40% smaller than the micro-SIM, measuring 15 x 12 x 0.76mm. That means there’s zero chance you’ll be able to stuff your micro-SIM into your iPhone 5 without modifying it first. But CNET reports that it’s possible to cut down the micro-SIM for a nano-SIM slot — just like you could cut down your iPhone 3GS’s regular SIM card for use in the iPhone 4. It does require a little more work, however.

You see, not only is the nano-SIM smaller than the micro-SIM, but it’s also 12% thinner. That means you don’t just need to cut it down to size, but you also need to put it on a diet and thin out out a little bit. CNET’s John Chan explains:

Now, let’s say the SIM tray on the iPhone 5 allows a nano-SIM up to 0.70mm (as permitted by the allowance in the standard set by ESTI), I will need to pare down 0.12mm on my micro-SIM so that it will fit. After a few minutes of sanding with some sandpaper (240 grit, for those who care), it was finally down to 0.70mm. But did the sanding damage the card?

I’m happy to report that the card, even at 0.70mm, continued to work when inserted in an HTC One X. Sanding the non-metal side of the micro-SIM did not appear to affect how it functions.

Before you go ahead and do this, wait until you receive your iPhone 5 on Friday and double-check that a micro-SIM cut down to size — without sanding — doesn’t fit. It’s likely it won’t, but as Chan notes, we can’t be sure of that until the iPhone 5 is released and it can be tested.

Didn’t Preorder? How To Get An iPhone 5 A.S.A.P. [Buyer's Guide]

The iPhone 5 pre-orders kicked off last Friday at 12:00 AM PST and it only took a few hours for delivery estimates to start to slip well into October. A little perspective – it took nearly a day (approximately 22 hours) for last year’s iPhone 4S pre-sale to begin to run out; the iPhone 5 did the same in about an hour.
Hopefully Apple will be able to keep up with the demand for the iPhone 5. But if not here are a few tips based on what we have learned from past iPhone releases that might help lessen headaches and improve your chances of getting your hands on an iPhone 5 this season.

Hurry up, order, and wait.

Shipping estimates have already been pushed back by several weeks for pre-orders, and it’s likely going to get a lot worse. We’ve been here before. Does anyone remember every other iPhone release to date? It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. Expect long lines, wait lists, uncertainty, and frustrated would-be buyers through the end of the year.

Let’s face it, our smartphones have become nearly as indispensable as water, sewer, and electricity. Planned obsolescence and the ubiquitous notion that we need to have the latest and greatest technology have contributed to a culture where upgrading our devices whenever a new model is released is widely viewed as an acceptable cost of living. Combine that with a mending economy that’s entering the 2012 Holiday season and there’s good reason to expect the iPhone 5 to be a hot commodity. If you think it’s difficult to get your hands on an iPhone 5 now, just wait until Black Friday.

My advice: if you are the sort of person that places any value on having the latest and greatest technology and are due for a new iPhone (i.e. your you are eligible for a carrier subsidy), then order one as soon as possible. If you act fast you’ll probably get your iPhone 5 by the end of October. You can always return it within thirty days if you change your mind.

Avoid bad or risky deals.

People are already offering pre-ordered iPhone 5s for sale on websites such as eBay and Craigslist. Buying through sites like these isn’t for everyone and I would urge most to avoid these at all cost. While there are many legitimate sellers on these sites there will also be plenty of price gougers and scammers. The best-case scenario is that you’ll overpay for an iPhone 5, but you may end up getting an empty box. You cannot be sure when the iPhone was actually purchased and, therefore, you may have difficulties getting it covered by AppleCare+. If you arrange to buy an iPhone 5 in person through a site like Craigslist you should agree to do the transaction during daylight hours in a public location – iPhone buyers have been robbed at gunpoint in the past. Buyers beware.

Reserve an iPhone 5 for pickup at an Apple Store.

If you missed the pre-order and don’t want to wait several weeks for delivery from Apple or another retailer then you can still try to reserve an iPhone 5 at a local Apple Store for next day pickup. The appeal, of course, is that you might be able to get your hands on an iPhone 5 very quickly. Provided Apple follows the same process as it has in the past it will go something like this:

After September 21st the only way for you to pick up an iPhone 5 directly from an Apple Store will be if you reserve it for next day pickup online. This can be an extremely frustrating process, but if you’re persistent you will likely see results. Last year we obtained an iPhone 4S using this strategy after about a week of trying. Here’s what we learned from the experience.

iPhone 5 Component Costs Estimated to Begin at $199

IHS iSuppli has released its estimate of the component costs involved in building the iPhone 5, performing a virtual teardown based on information revealed by Apple and industry knowledge. The estimate, which does not include numerous other costs involved in product development, manufacturing, and sales, such as research and development, software, patent licenses, marketing, and distribution expenditures, pegs the component cost of the entry-level 16 GB iPhone 5 at $199.

The new iPhone 5 carries a bill of materials (BOM) of $199.00 for the low-end model with 16Gbytes of NAND flash memory, according to a preliminary virtual teardown conducted by the IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Service. When the $8.00 manufacturing cost is added in, the cost to produce the iPhone 5 rises to $207.00. For the 32Gbyte version of the iPhone 5, the BOM cost increases to $209.00, while 64Gbyte version is estimated at $230.00, as presented in the table below.

The estimated $199 bill of materials (BOM) for the 16 GB model is slightly higher than the firm's $188 estimate for the iPhone 4S at that device's launch last year, but a halving of flash storage prices over the past year means that Apple's margins improve as capacity increases. While the 32 GB and 64 GB models of the iPhone 4S carried BOMs of $207 and $245 respectively, those estimates move to $209 and $230 for the iPhone 5.

"While the price of some components, such as NAND flash, has fallen during the past year, the iPhone 5’s overall BOM has increased mainly because its display and wireless subsystems are more expensive compared to the iPhone 4S.”

Compared to the iPhone 4S, flash storage pricing declined by roughly $10 on the entry-level iPhone 5, but that decrease was more than offset by a $7 increase in display costs to $44 due to the adoption of in-cell touch sensors and a $10 increase in wireless costs with the move to Qualcomm's latest LTE-compatible chips. At the 64 GB level, a $37 decrease in flash memory compared to the iPhone 4S is able to overcome the other increases to lower Apple's overall estimated costs for the device.

How to Transfer Everything from Old iPhone to New iPhone 5 the Easy Way

Did you just get a new iPhone? Do you want to move everything from the old one to the new one? No sweat, we’ll walk you through the two absolute easiest and most pain free methods to migrate everything from that old iPhone to the brand spankin new iPhone 5. Transferring everything from iPhones is a lot like migrating iPads, so if you’ve done that before you’ll be in familiar territory. If this is all completely new to you, don’t worry because it’s very easy.

Transfer Data from Old iPhone to New iPhone with iCloud

This is by far the easiest method and it doesn’t require a PC or Mac, but it relies on having iCloud set up on the original device. If you don’t have iCloud set up or you have a slower internet connection, jump to the iTunes method below instead.

Back up the old iPhone manually with iCloud by opening “Settings, tap “iCloud”, navigate to bottom and tap on “Storage & Backup”, then tap “Back Up Now”
Boot the iPhone 5 and walk through the easy setup, choose either “Restore from iCloud Backup”
Wait until the new iPhone restores from your old iPhone backup, this can take a while depending on the size of your backup, how much stuff you have on the iPhones, and the speed of your internet connection
When finished, your new iPhone will have everything from the old iPhone and you’re ready to go!

Is that easy or what? If you don’t have iCloud or your internet connection is slower, the iTunes method below is also quite easy.

Migrating an Old iPhone to New iPhone with iTunes

Don’t have iCloud setup? Or maybe you don’t have enough iCloud storage to backup to it? No big deal, you can use iTunes to perform the migration. You’ll need a Mac or PC though, so it’s not quite as automated as the aforementioned iCloud method, but it’s still extremely simple and it may even be faster for some users who have slower broadband connections.

Back up the older iPhone with iTunes by connecting it to the Mac/PC via USB, launching iTunes, then right-click on the iPhone in the iTunes sidebar and choose “Back Up”
Wait for the backup to finish, then disconnect the old iPhone from the computer
Now turn on the new iPhone, and at the “Set Up iPhone” screen, select “Restore from iTunes Backup”, tap Next, then connect the new iPhone to the computer
Select the most recent backup you just made from the restore menu in iTunes, then click “Continue”
Wait, and when the transfer is finished the iPhone will reboot itself and everything from the old iPhone will be on the new one and ready to go
If you’re impatient and just want the fastest way to migrate everything over and don’t mind connecting it to a computer, iTunes is the way to go.

I Already Used the New iPhone, How Can I Get Back to the Initial Setup Menus?

If you couldn’t wait to start using the new iPhone before restoring it with your previous data, all you need to do is restore it to factory settings and then it will reboot back into the initial setup screen, letting you follow the two guides outlined above. To do that:

Open “Settings”, tap on “General”, tap on “Reset”, then tap “Erase All Content and Settings”
Let the iPhone reboot, it will be erased completely and you can then follow the procedures outlined above

The first inside look at Apple's custom A6 system on chip application processor has revealed "a very unique processor design" with what appears to be 3 graphics processor cores and dual custom CPU cores.

The first internal images of the new chip's layout, released by TechInsights, shows three "easily identifiable" GPUs cores, although the firm noted that "Apple may have used a 'big-little' approach and gone with either a flexible 4th core or a smaller one."

The chip also appears to use dual general purpose ARM cores, although it is known that Apple didn't use either of ARM's stock Cortex-A8 or Cortex-A15 designs. Instead, Apple developed its own custom variant optimized for its own uses.

Origins of ARM

ARM has served as a processor IP design firm for decades since being founded as a collaboration between Apple and the British Acorn in the early 1990s to adapt Acorn's RISC chip for use in mobile devices (specifically targeting Apple's 1994 Newton Message Pad).

Every since, ARM has licensed its processor designs to third parties to fabricate. Some licensees only have rights to build ARM's existing designs, but Apple acquired the rights to develop custom versions of ARM's CPU core technologies.

Along with ARM's CPU cores, Apple also secretly inked a "multi-use licensing agreement" with Imagination Technologies in 2007, giving it access to the firm's "next generation graphics and video IP cores."

In early 2008, AppleInsider was the first to report that the "international electronics systems company" making these secret deals was, in fact, Apple.

Apple's acquisition of PA Semi in 2008, followed by its purchase of Intrinsity in 2010 enabled the company to deliver a series of increasingly customized application processor chips for iOS devices, culminating in 2010 with the first SoC Apple branded with its own "A4" moniker, which debuted with the first iPad.

Authentication chips discovered in teardown of Apple's new Lightning connector

A user has torn apart Apple's new Lightning bolt cable and shared details on the iPhone 5 connector with AppleInsider, including a warning as to why customers should not buy third-party Lightning connectors for the time being.

Peter from Double Helix Cables took apart the Lightning connector and found inside what appear to be authentication chips. He found a chip located between the V+ contact of the USB and the power pin on the new Lightning plug.

The presumed inclusion of authentication chips in Lightning connectors plays a part in the higher cost of the new cables. Earlier Friday, AppleInsider shared details from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who said the new Lightning connector has a cost of $3.50, which is a 775 percent increase compared to the legacy 30-pin dock connector.

While the Lightning cable reportedly costs Apple $3.50 to make, some third-party resellers on sites like Alibaba.com are already offering Lightning connectors at much cheaper prices. Given the apparent use of authentication chips and Apple's cost in making the cables, Peter cautioned that customers should avoid third-party Lightning connectors for the time being.

"There is basically no way those are functional cables," he told AppleInsider in an e-mail on Friday. "You can't just build a Lightning cable by making something with the same shape and connectivity, and my teardown proves that. The chip has to be there, and it is directly in the signal path of the V+ wire."

He also said that users will not be able to build without their own Lightning cables, "at least not without a precise dissection of an Apple-branded Lightning cable." He characterized the connector as "very fragile" once the metal protective shield has been removed, though it is "extremely tough" when the cable is intact.

Peter did manage to customize his own Lightning cable by shortening it, adding sleeving, and putting his own custom USB plug and logo branding heatshrink, something he said he did "just for fun." Below, he's shared what is the first-ever "custom" Lightning cable:

Chipworks confirms that Apple is still using Sony and Omnivision cameras in iPhone 5

Chipworks took apart the iPhone 5, just like last year, and it is looking at parts with an infrared camera. The chip analysts were able to lift suppliers’ names off both the front and back cameras. Also, just like last year, Sony makes the back 8-megapixel camera. The findings:

Unlike the prior generation iPhone 4S that had an IMX145, infra-red imaging did not show the same die markings. Only a lonely little “SONY”. When we measured the pixel, we did find it to be 1.4 µm, similar to the IMX145 and we know that the published specifications are also similar. Further analysis will determine the unique features of this sensor.

OmniVision, a long time supplier of sensors for iOS devices, makes the iSightHD (1.9-megapixel) front camera:

As noted by Chipworks, Apple’s ability to fit these sensors into an even thinner phone is likely due to the “thin touch screen with fewer layers, a thin battery, and the use of thin camera modules using the latest technology.”

Verizon iPhone 5 Confirmed to Be Unlocked on GSM 3G Networks

iDownloadBlog has confirmed that the Verizon iPhone 5 being sold on contract does arrive unlocked for use on GSM networks, allowing users with a nano-SIM or a trimmed micro-SIM from a GSM carrier such as AT&T to use the device on their networks.

I can confirm that the Verizon iPhone 5 is indeed GSM unlocked. Even though I bought an iPhone 5 from Verizon under contract, I was able to cut down my AT&T Micro SIM, and use it in my Verizon iPhone 5 to pick up an AT&T signal. By doing so, I was able to hop onto AT&T’s HPSA+ network, or “4G” as they so ridiculously name it.

As the report notes, users attempting to use a Verizon iPhone 5 on AT&T in the United States will not have access to AT&T's LTE network, due to hardware differences that leave the Verizon iPhone 5 (which is essentially a single CDMA/GSM world-mode phone for 3G purposes) incompatible with LTE frequency bands 4 and 17 used by AT&T and Canadian carriers.

For other international GSM carriers, Verizon iPhone 5 owners should simply be able to obtain a nano-SIM card from the international carrier and use it in their phone.

Here’s 15 Spectacular Wallpapers For Your New iPhone 5 [Gallery]

Your iPhone 5 is gorgeous and thin and you love the hell out of it, right? New wallpaper selection for the iPhone 5 is a little bit lacking right now while everyone gets used to the taller resolution, but we went out and dug up 15 amazing wallpapers that perfectly fit the iPhone 5’s taller screen. Check ‘em out.